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1. RichPenny - Member

   Am seriously considering having a new boiler. My old WB240 is 18 years old and flaky.

   Whilst pressure and CH are OK the hot water flow is utterly miserable, not enough to turn the boiler on so we have to switch it on manually and run the CH just to have a bath/shower. Heat exchanger replaced last year so unlikely to be that.

   So, might a power flush sort the problem out, and how much might this cost? We did have an amateur plumber in recently and a few random bolts were in the pipework

   If not, what sort of boiler and thermostat should I look at , and what might be a reasonable installation cost? It's a 2 bed flat with 4 small rads, 2 large ones and 1 bathroom.

   I should add that I'm getting a couple of people round for a quote, but the oracle that is STW often throws up some great assistance.

   Thanks in advance,

   Rich

   Posted 7 months ago #
2. paulosoxo - Member

   Powerflush won't sort Domestic Hot Water flow

   What's your cold mains flow like?

   From Memory there's a flow restrictor in the the connections from the diverter to the domestic heat exchanger, which is probably blocked if you have poor flow.

   Posted 7 months ago #
3. carbon337 - Member

   Wireless multi day an multi point thermostats are ace. Got one on my potterton promax. Had a flush done too.

   Posted 7 months ago #
4. RichPenny - Member

   Aha, cheers Paulsoxo. Cold flow is ace, but it takes 45 minutes to run a hot bath

   Posted 7 months ago #
5. paulosoxo - Member

   Certain there is a blockage within the boiler domestic side then. I take it by WB240, you mean a Worcester 240? the white bit in the middle is the restrictor, they can be left out. Check the isolation valve on the inlet, one trick is to restrict the flow to give you hot water by closing that down and reducing flow, is it inline with the pipe, rather than pointing across the pipe?

   edit, teh screwdriver slot should be inline with the pipework to give full flow

   

   Posted 7 months ago #
6. totalshell - Member

   paul has it about right and a LOT cheaper than a new boiler which you DONT need. if the thing can produce heat ( eg ch) it will with a fettle produce dhw.
   both bg and wb do fixed price repairs wb fix 3 faults for 180 bg will prob charge 169 bou only fix the first fault WB probably do within 72 hours often next day.. thier only a fone call away..

   wb new boiler has just risen in price at the beginning of oct. a new 24i jnr ( thats all you need size wise plus get the free chip fitted to bring the ch down to 15kw) is just shy of 900 trade add another 250 for fitting plus 50 for a salus wireless programable thermostat and ypur home and warm.. if the rads are old or piping mostly in 10 mm fit a magnatc or fernox fp 1 ( trade 80 quid)

   so all in a brand new wb for less than 1400.. or a repair for 180..
   caveat Rochdale pricing add more for a shiney van add a multipler of circa 1.5 for bg who would fit a cheper boiler and let you pay monthley for the rest of your life.. even i now rent boilers for a monthly fee plus an installation charge up front. (10pw minimum 3 year agreement)

   Posted 7 months ago #
7. RichPenny - Member

   My plumber has recommended a Viessmann 30kW boiler for an install cost of 12-1300 plus vat. Does that seem reasonable, or is the boiler too highly specced for our flat? Would also need a thermostat/controller on top.

   He's also said he could check the pipework by bridging across the inlet/outlet of the boiler when it's off. He would charge about 80 plus vat for this.

   Posted 7 months ago #
8. RichPenny - Member

   a new 24i jnr ( thats all you need size wise plus get the free chip fitted to bring the ch down to 15kw) is just shy of 900 trade

   Really? Can see prices online of 750, are these out of date? Also do you think the 24i is enough for my needs. I think it is, but I'm a tightwad

   Sorry, should learn to read posts better!

   Posted 7 months ago #
9. paulosoxo - Member

   RichPenny - Member

   Viessmann 30kW boiler

   I'd fit a Worcester or a Vailiant

   He's also said he could check the pipework by bridging across the inlet/outlet of the boiler when it's off. He would charge about 80 plus vat for this.

   That would take in the region of 5 minutes to do, and what he is hoping to achieve, other than prove there is flow through the pipework is beyond me

   Posted 7 months ago #
10. totalshell - Member

    30kw is massively over spec, we are wb apporved and fit 24i jnr in 80% of homes the size is about the volume of dhw available in litres per minute so a std house with 3 hot outlets ( bath basin sink) is easily covered by the 24kw i'd fit a 30 if you had 4 bed rooms a bathroom an an ensuite and a utility room and down stairs loo
    a 38 easily delivered recently for a 5 bed two bathroom ensuite and utility room

    the guerntees on all makes are just pieces of paper unless the boiler has been fitted by someone like BG the compant may pick holes in it and not do the repair ( went to a home with a boiler fitted by the manufacturer 6 yrs ago and serviced every year by manufacturer who turned round and said they would nt do it any more as it wasnt fitted properly..

    Posted 7 months ago #
11. RichPenny - Member

    That would take in the region of 5 minutes to do, and what he is hoping to achieve, other than prove there is flow through the pipework is beyond me

    We did remove a few random bits of metalwork from the pipework, so I'd guess it's to check there's none left causing a problem. My FIL also said that the pump was getting hot (and was adjusted to maximum or something). A related issue?

    Thanks very much for the help so far. Part of the reasoning for a new boiler is that I could be selling in 3-5 years anyway and an old boiler won't help that, plus it'd be more efficient.

    Posted 7 months ago #
12. paulosoxo - Member

    A new boiler is worth while, I just think you can get that one repaired in the meantime!

    British Gas do one off jobs and are fixed price before hand, I'm pretty sure it's a blockage in the restrictor ring, however, blocked pipework is a possibility. They'll be able to organise a quote for a boiler too, and believe it or not, they're not as expensive as the rumour mongers on here will have you believe

    Posted 7 months ago #
13. lodious - Member

    We went for a Viessmann in the summer, we previously had terrible hot water flow, but went for a pressurised hot water system w/Viessmann tank. H/W Tank is now in the garage, and no water in the loft, so we can insulate the loft without worry of burst pipes. Hot water flow is now mega. The heating is now really quiet, can't hear it come on. We had a 26kw boiler for a 5 bed detached house, which I thought was underspec'd, but I checked the calc's and it's actually slightly over (overspecing is not a good thing as it's less efficient),

    Really pleased...although it's not got cold outside yet. I don't much like the Viessmann controller, quite complicated, and doesn't do everything i'd like it to, but other than that, it's been great.

    Posted 7 months ago #
14. CHB - Member

    We got a new wb this feb. The danfoss wireless stat is ace!

    Posted 7 months ago #
15. RichPenny - Member

    Cheeky bump for the daytime folk. Any more opinions?

    Posted 7 months ago #

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